In recent years, there has been an increasing focus across the construction industry on how innovative technology can help to deliver projects more efficiently. In a sector which has always relied on traditional methods, change is needed to deliver ambitious targets set for the industry and work has to be done to ensure that companies are ready to embrace new technology.

In particular small to medium-sized companies must be supported to ensure they aren’t left behind by technological advances in the industry, this has been the focus of research which we have carried out with support from the CITB.

As a result of this research we have launched the UK’s first timber frame BIM library, which is now available to the construction industry. This was part of a 12-month project examining the Building Information Modelling (BIM) readiness of small to medium builders.

The BIM library features 102 of Stewart Milne Timber Systems timber frame products; including walls, floors and roof products and is free to download from the BIM store.

The use of the library will reduce lead-in time on a timber frame project by as much as a month, by removing the need for a three-stage ‘back and forth’ design process between architects and Stewart Milne Timber Systems’ design team. Instead, accurate 3D models will be available immediately after using the BIM library.

BIM is a collaborative construction process which uses 3D modelling to deliver a project across multiple professions and trades, to maximise efficiency and avoid conflicts which can add time and cost to a project. The 2016 NBS National BIM report showed that 86% of respondents expected to be using BIM in projects in 2017, and 97% of projects in five years’ time.

As part of the project, we carried out a survey of our supply chain to assess its BIM readiness. Only 2% of respondents were BIM-ready with 32% of companies actually aware of BIM.

This highlighted the work that the supply chain needs to do, in stepping up to the BIM challenge and why Stewart Milne Timber Systems has been the first supplier, to launch a BIM timber frame product library

The need for this has been brought into sharp focus as the UK Government Construction Strategy included a requirement for collaborative 3D BIM Level 2 on all of its projects by last year, along with many private sector clients now adopting BIM as part of their own procurement requirements. Work on this is ongoing but it has made clear that the industry must evolve to meet expectations.